Attitudes are central to understanding human beings' unique ability to create elaborate predispositions and evaluations based on their social experiences. This volume reviews cutting-edge research on attitudes by leading scholars and is essential reading for social psychologists, and practitioners in clinical, counseling, organizational, marketing, forensic, and developmental psychology.

Part 1. Introduction and Basic Issues. J.P. Forgas, J. Cooper, W. Crano, Introductory Remarks: History Background and Issues of Research on Attitudes and Attitude Change. B.T. Johnson, M. Boynton, Putting Attitudes in their Place: Behavioral Prediction in the Face of Competing Variables. A. Ledgerwood, Y. Trope, Attitudes as Global and Local Action Guides. E. Walther, For Whom Pavlov's Bell Tolls: Is There Any Evidence for Associative Processes Underlying Attitude Formation and Change? J. Blascovich, C. McCall, Attitudes in Virtual Reality. Part 2. Attitudes: Cognitive and Affective Processes. J. Cooper, Vicarious Cognitive Dissonance: Changing Attitudes by Experiencing Another's Pain. S.J. Spencer, M.P. Zanna, Implicit Evaluations and Attitude Change: How Implicit Attitudes and Norms Can Foster Changes in Attitudes and Behavior. E. Harmon-Jones, D.M. Amodio, C. Harmon-Jones, An Action-based Model of Cognitive Dissonance: On Cognitive Conflict and Attitude Change. K. Fiedler, The Asymmetry of Causal and Diagnostic Inferences: A Challenge for the Study of Implicit Attitudes. J.P. Forgas, The Role of Affect in Attitude Formation, Expression and Attitude Change. Part 3. Attitudes and Persuasion. M. Waenke, L. Reutner, Pragmatic Persuasion or the Persuasion Paradox. K. Williams, S. Zheng, D. Wegener, A Needs-based Theory of Persuasion. R. Prislin, Persuasion as Social Interaction. W.D. Crano, Experiments as Reforms: Persuasion in the Nation's Service. Part 4. Applications and Implications of Attitude Research. B. Major, Perceiving and Reacting to Prejudice: Impact of Shared Attitudes and Beliefs about Status Inequality. F. Rhodewalt, B. Petersen, The Self and Intergroup Attitudes: Connecting "Fragile" Personal and Collective Self-Concepts. J. Krosnick, Passion in Politics: The Study of Attitude Strength Inside and Outside the Laboratory.